Hard to believe: It’s June 1 and we’re still talking about whether Congress will take action to avoid the 21% Medicare physician fee cut mandated by the Sustainable Growth Rate (or SGR) that was supposed to take effect originally on January 1.

Via Flickr Creative Commons user autiscy

But it’s happened again. The fee cuts go into effect today because the Senate left town without voting on legislation that was approved by the House that would extend the current pay rate by 19 months.

As that oft-quoted philosopher Yogi Berra once quipped, it’s deja vu all over again.

This week’s podcast also discusses another delay that affects physicians, the so-called Red Flags Rule. And, take a listen to what a Medicare official has to say about how physicians will be scrutinized for fraud and abuse.

For some other perspectives, see what the Society of Hospital Medicine has to say here about the economics of avoiding the SGR fix, and check out Medical Rants on the “SGR folly” here. And, as always, let us know what you think directly — leave us a comment!